New Campus for Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea

New Campus for Hongik University in Seoul

21 October 2026

Designers: OMA / Chris van Duijn

Location: Seoul, South Korea

THE NEW HONGIK UNIVERSITY SEOUL CAMPUS BREAKS GROUND IN SEOUL

Model photo Courtesy of OMA

Designed by OMA/Chris van Duijn, the New Hongik University Seoul Campus will add a largely underground expansion to the Seoul campus, with rooftop landscapes linking Wau Mountain, the university and the Hongdae district. Completion is expected in mid-2031. © Courtesy of OMA October 14, 2026 – Hongik University’s Seoul campus celebrated a historic milestone as OMA, university leaders, the Mayor of Mapo-gu, and other collaborators gathered for the groundbreaking of the largest expansion in the campus’s history.

Rendering Courtesy of OMA

Located at the foot of Wau Mountain, on the site of the campus’s former playing field, the project will add 150,000 square meters of floor area, the majority of which will be underground. It will open the campus to the surrounding Hongdae neighborhood and provide the university with its first continuous network of green public spaces.

Chris van Duijn, OMA Partner: “We are delighted to celebrate this moment with Hongik University and our collaborators. The campus has long grown through densification, and new campus continues that logic while restoring what had been missing: green space and a connection to the city.”

Rendering Courtesy of OMA

This project originated in the 2023 New Hongik International Invited Design Competition, in which OMA was selected from a field of five finalists. Built in the 1950s on the slopes of Wau Mountain, the Hongik campus has been steadily saturated with buildings, leaving “the land around them” as little more than “the land between them.” This pattern has also fostered a culture of appropriating space—one that extends beyond the campus into Hongdae, a district known for its impromptu performances, vibrant atmosphere, and nightlife. OMA’s design responds to both conditions: it maximizes the campus’s built area while restoring green space and reconnecting areas severed by more recent additions.

Rendering Courtesy of OMA

The new buildings are set below ground, with their rooftops forming a network of tree-shaded paths that link the campus’s main access points to Hongdae. Courtyards and amphitheaters between the buildings bring daylight deep underground and create a continuous sequence of outdoor spaces. In contrast to other underground campus developments in Korea, the new campus will connect to the existing campus at multiple points.

At the heart of the development, a public-amenities level—the Hongdae Level—runs through all the buildings, welcoming visitors and ensuring that the majority of destinations are no more than three floors up or down. It is here that the campus and the city meet.

Model photo Courtesy of OMA

The program is designed to reinforce the existing campus. A new art center at its core will bring culture and education together, while a multipurpose learning hub will connect the new buildings directly to the surrounding faculty buildings. The remaining facilities are organized into three sectors: high-tech laboratories, amenities, and maker spaces close to Hongdae.

The new Hongik University Seoul Campus was designed by OMA Hong Kong, led by Partner Chris van Duijn, in collaboration with Junglim Architecture, Arup Hong Kong, VS-A and Office Parkkim.

Images © Courtesy of Hongik University Online Communication Office

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Previously on e-architect:

21 November 2023

Designers: OMA / Chris van Duijn

Location: Seoul, South Korea

Renders by OMA

OMA to Design New Campus for Hongik University, South Korea

Seoul, November 21, 2023 – OMA / Chris van Duijn has won the competition to design the new campus of Hongik University in Seoul. The scheme will add a cluster of interwoven buildings and public spaces that meld with the existing topography, aiming to strengthen the connection between the university and the city.

Built in 1950s on the slopes of the Wau mountain, Hongik University is a private institution renowned for its art and design programs. Over the years, the university has reached the limits for expansion, isolating the campus from the adjacent neighborhood of Hongdae, an area known for its street art, local shops and nightlife. In 2023, thanks to an urban planning ordinance by the Seoul Metropolitan Government that eased restrictions for building on university grounds, an open field at the foot of the mountain was made available for construction and became the site of the project.

Chris van Duijn, Partner at OMA: “The new Hongik campus adds another chapter to OMA’s involvement in cultural projects in Seoul. This is a project that shies away from conventional labels: it is a building, a masterplan and landscape design all at once. It purposely avoids standing out and invites to be discovered gradually. In doing so, it aims to reestablish the connection the university once had with the neighborhood.”

OMA’s design maximizes the campus’ built-up area while inserting a significant amount of greenery. Conceived as a natural extension of the Wau mountain, the new addition is situated below ground level. The buildings are strategically positioned across the site, their roofs acting as paths sheltered by trees, which connect the university’s main access points with the Hongdae district. Between the buildings, sloping outdoor courtyards cascade downwards, encouraging students and staff to gather and interact informally. The courtyards bring light deep into the campus, linking the buildings in unexpected ways and forming a continuous sequence of outdoor spaces.

Programmatically, the new buildings are organized into interconnected clusters based on three sectors: high-tech laboratories, located close to the Engineering Faculty; amenities, placed at the center; and maker spaces, positioned towards Hongdae. In addition, a new art center will occupy the central buildings, while the perimeter will house a multipurpose learning hub. The floor at the level of Hongdae runs through all buildings, allowing one to move up or down no more than three floors. Its public amenities invite visitors in, turning it into the pulse of the campus.

“We have designed a campus that lets itself be ‘contaminated’ with some of the energy, spontaneity, and creativity of the Hongdae neighborhood,” says Ravi Kamisetti, Associate at OMA.

The winning scheme by OMA was chosen among five entries from established international practices, including SANAA, Herzog & de Meuron, Renzo Piano Building Workshop and David Chipperfield Architects.

The project will be executed by OMA’s Hong Kong team, led by Chris van Duijn. The office is currently working on mixed-used buildings including Hangzhou Prism and CMG Times Center in Shenzhen, and retail projects across China and South Korea.

New Campus for Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea – Building Information

Design:OMA – https://www.oma.com/

Status: Ongoing
Client: Hongik University
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Site: 29,837m2 Program: Education
Partner: Chris van Duijn
Associate: Ravi Kamisetti
Competition team: Ken Fung, Felicia Gambino, Xaveer Roodbeen, Jae Seung David Koo, Hyun Keun Im, Yi Fei Yuan

COLLABORATORS
Local Architects: dA Architecture Group
Façade: VSA
Structure, MEP and Sustainability: Arup Hong Kong Landscape: Office Parkkim
Visualization: Negativ
Model: OMA and RJ Models

About OMA

OMA is an international practice operating within the traditional boundaries of architecture and urbanism. AMO, a research and design studio, applies architectural thinking to domains beyond.

OMA is led by eight partners – Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van Loon, Shohei Shigematsu, Iyad Alsaka, Chris van Duijn, Jason Long, and Managing Partner- Architect David Gianotten. Established in 2009, OMA Asia oversees projects in the Asia Pacific region, working across a wide range of typologies.

The office’s recently completed works include the Hanwha Galleria, the Genesis Gangnam showroom, Chengdu Future City and the extension at the Beijing UCCA. Current projects include the Hangzhou Prism, CMG Times Center in Shenzhen, the new campus for Hongik University in Seoul, and various retail projects in China and South Korea.

Chris van Duijn

Chris van Duijn is a Partner at OMA since 2014 and leads OMA’s work in Asia. He joined the practice in 1996 and has been involved in some of OMA’s most renowned projects such as Universal Studios in Los Angeles, the Prada stores in New York and Los Angeles (2001), Casa da Música in Porto (2005), CCTV Headquarters in Beijing (2012) and Prada Transformer in Seoul (2009).

Among his recently completed projects are Hanwha Galleria department store in Seoul (2020), MEETT Toulouse Exhibition and Convention Centre (2020), Axel Springer Campus in Berlin (2020), the extension of Beijing UCCA Center for Contemporary Art (2019) and Genesis Gangnam car dealership in Seoul (2018). Ongoing projects include Hangzhou Prism, CMG Times Center in Shenzhen, and Simone Veil Bridge in Bordeaux.

New Campus for Hongik University, Seoul, South Korea images / information received 211123 from OMA

Location: Seoul, South Korea